A Silent Sort of Scream
by gin kokoro ma
Summary: Donatello is beating himself up over the failure of his latest invention. Can a little kitten help him before he takes things too far? Rated T for self-injury.


Hey everyone, this is my first story. I definitely want to know what you think, so please review!

Disclaimer: Don't own, don't sue.

A Silent Sort of Scream

A heart-wrenching scream echoed its way across several blocks of New York City, but not in the way one might think. Not a physical scream, but a silent one. After all, Hamato Donatello wasn't one to display his feelings so freely and openly.

Abandoning his lifetime of ninjitsu stealth training, Donatello ground his bare feet roughly across the scratchy concrete of an apartment complex he had found himself on. He paced heavily for a moment before jerking himself around and slamming his hands into the sidewall. _I am such a failure.

* * *

_

Down, just below in room 704, a small kitten was jerked awake from her comfortable sleep by a piercing sound. Immediately she jumped up, her fur puffed and her back arched, waiting for an attack that never came. She was calming down and fixing to go back to her interrupted slumber when she heard it again-an agonizing scream. She tensed, then jumped down from her perch on the windowsill to seek out her owner. However, she found her owner sound asleep in her bed. The little black kitten, whose small yellow collar held a tag imprinted "Manna," therefore went off in search of the cause of her insomnia.

* * *

Donatello was brooding. The device he was _so _certain would work had fallen apart on him in the middle of a huge battle, and had gotten him and his brothers nearly killed. A battle _he _had assured wouldn't even be fought. He had put so much confidence into his invention. If it weren't for his brother Leonardo's brilliance, they'd all be dead right now. Because of him.

Donatello reached down and dug around in his belt pockets for a shuriken.

It was too much. He had to relieve the pressure.

* * *

Manna was being led by the continued cries of this strange, mysterious voice. Up, she concluded that it was up above her. And, going through her cat door to the washroom she and her neighbor shared, she noticed that the small door leading to a staircase was ajar, as it always was at night to allow cool air to circulate in the stuffy room. She slipped through and, with a little difficulty, hopped up each enormous stair. The urgency of the voice was increasing, and she hurried as fast as she could.

* * *

Donatello slammed the shuriken down against his thigh, and watched as the blood began to pool in the wound he had created. He brought his weapon back up and slammed it down again and again, relief beginning to flood through him. His arm reached to prepare for another strike when suddenly he felt eyes on him. He twirled, his hand grabbing his bo staff from across his back, and stood in a defensive position as he looked frantically around for his attacker.

No one was there, but he still felt the eyes.

Foot Tech?

No. There it was. A small kitten, its fur so dark it was difficult to make out in the night.

Donatello sighed and, turning, sitting back down and picking the stained shuriken from the ground.

The eyes were still on him.

He turned back to look, and was surprised to find the kitten only a few feet from him now, staring at him curiously. Its ears were perked as if in alarm, and it slowly edged closer.

"Go away," Donatello told the cat. "Shoo."

However, the cat merely ignored his demand and sniffed a few drops of fallen blood.

"Go on, cat, you don't want to mess with that." Donatello gave the kitten a little shove, but she stood resistant and looked up at him again.

* * *

_The screams, they are still here, although this one's mouth is quite obviously shut. _Manna was very confused. It was obvious to her that this is where the sounds were emitting from, but also obvious that the giant creature was making no sound. She suddenly wondered if anyone else could hear what she was hearing.

_Why is it bleeding? Is it screaming because its injured? _She sniffed the crimson puddle on the ground, and was irritated as it shoved her away. She turned to study its face. _Why is this creature so sad?

* * *

_

_Why is she staring at me like that? _Donatello averted his eyes, suddenly uncomfortable by the amount of attention this small kitten was giving him. "Leave me alone, go home."

But the cat merely studied his face for a moment longer before swishing her tail and walking closer, propping her front paws on his leg. She started to clean up his thigh with her tongue.

Donatello quickly grabbed the cat and held her away, thoroughly confused and touched. He didn't understand where this kitten came from, or why it was trying to help him. He suddenly realized that he was hugging her against his chest and she was beginning to purr softly. The kitten's display suddenly made him ashamed of himself, and he dropped his shuriken and wrapped his other hand around the cat, drawing comfort and healing from the small creature.

* * *

Manna didn't protest when the large creature picked her up and cuddled her to its chest. This creature, whatever it was, was so sad. She decided he needed company, so she prepared herself for the long haul. After staring at him for a moment longer, trying to decide on what exactly it was, why the screams had quieted and why it was hurting, she settled down in his arms and went to sleep.

* * *

Donatello was aware that there was a sticky mess of drying blood on his thigh. He was also aware that the first hints of dawn were beginning to show on the horizon, and that his brothers would soon be getting up for practice and discover him gone. But this small kitten was all that mattered at the moment, and he refused to give her up until he had no other choice. She was sound asleep in his arms, and had never ceased her soft purring all night. Maybe, if this little kitten could love him so freely, he could someday forgive himself as well. Maybe he didn't need pain to relieve pressure. He sighed, knowing that he had to go soon, otherwise he'd risk being seen. Still clutching the kitten, he stood up and silently walked down the staircase she had come out of. Unwillingly, he gently deposited her in a basket of clean towels. When he turned to leave, she woke up and turned to stare at him once again.

"Thank you," he whispered. She blinked before laying her head back down in the laundry and, still purring, went back to sleep. He noticed her name tag and reached to see what it said.

_Manna_, he brooded as he hurried across the roof tops towards his home. _God supplies. _

_End.  
_

What do you think? Is it too squished together? _  
_


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